potential collapse of their largest banks, chose to bail them out. But one country - Iceland,

當國內最大銀行可能倒閉時，許多國家選擇紓困

did the exact opposite. They let their banks fail, and many financial experts were surprised

不過冰島恰好相反，任其倒閉

with the “remarkable” recovery seen by the Icelandic economy. So, how did Iceland

冰島經濟「奇蹟」復甦，令許多金融專家跌破眼鏡

beat the banks?

究竟冰島如何擊敗這些大銀行？

Well, it’s important to note that Iceland is a small, isolated country in the Nordic

值得一提的是，冰島是北歐地區的小島國家

region. Its main industries are fishing and aluminum smelting, which are relatively consistent

經濟主要依靠漁業、煉鋁業，收入相對穩定

sources of income. For the past decades, Iceland has seen steady economic growth, and comparable

過去10年來，冰島經濟成長穩定

standards of living to its Nordic neighbors.

生活水平比起鄰國毫不遜色

In 2000, Iceland privatized its banking industry. This opened the doors to foreign debt, and

2000年冰島銀行業私營化，引進外債

by 2007, two-thirds of their financing came from abroad. When the global recession hit,

截至2007年， 2/3的金融資金來自國外

three of iceland's major banks collapsed. This was attributed to overextending their

全球經濟衰退時，冰島國內三大銀行倒閉

loans and making unsavory business decisions. For instance, one infamous bank, Landsbankinn,

起因在於負債過高、商業決策過度冒險，舉例來說，惡名昭彰的冰島國民銀行（Landsbankinn）

made Iceland residents responsible for more deposits than they could make payments on.

放任冰島人民過度借貸、超出償債能力

Unlike in the United States, where the bank’s deceitful actions merited a bail out, Iceland

和美國不同，美國銀行胡作非為還是能獲得紓困

refused to do the same. Iceland’s Central Bank Chief and former Prime Minister was quoted

冰島則強硬許多，前總理兼央行總裁曾說過

as saying, "we do not intend to pay the debts of the banks that have been a little heedless".

「我們不會償還銀行債務，那是他們輕忽犯下的錯」

Instead, the government instituted social welfare and debt-forgiveness programs, effectively

此外，政府推動社會福利、債務減免計畫

bailing out their own citizens. Additionally, a number of corrupt bankers were even jailed

成功幫助民眾脫離債務，貪污銀行業者也因無良放貸而入獄

for their role in unscrupulous lending. As a result, today Iceland is holding a steady

因此，今日冰島每年經濟成長率才能穩定維持3%

annual growth rate of 3% annually. By comparison, other european countries like Greece and Estonia

相較之下，其他歐洲國家像是希臘或愛沙尼亞

struggle to maintain a growth rate of 0.2 % and 1.1% percent. Iceland also maintains

各自成長率勉強達到0.2%或1.1%

a low unemployment rate - around 4%, while countries like Greece have seen their unemployment

冰島的失業率也很低、約4%

rate hit almost 30%.

希臘失業率則高達30%

Not all countries can do what Iceland did. But their success can certainly serve as a

並非所有國家都能學冰島，但冰島堪為表率

model. The Icelandic President also made a point of comparison between their financial

對於歐盟紓困方案與冰島金融改革，冰島總統也做出比較

reforms and the EU’s current austerity measures. If the struggling European economies “introduced

若歐盟各國「引進貨幣管制」

currency controls”, “let [their] banks fail”, and “provided [more] support for

「任由銀行倒閉」、「為窮人做更多」

the poor”, they’d be following in Iceland’s path. However, despite their success, letting

才能複製冰島經驗，不過就算成功

the banks fail also came with a lot of risk. For many larger countries, an economic collapse

放任銀行倒閉也有極大風險，對許多大國而言

could devastate the world economy as well. In the case of the US, they decided they had

經濟崩潰也會對全球經濟帶來傷害

too much to lose.

美國便認為銀行倒閉「弊大於利」

Ever heard of swiss bank accounts, and how they’re used to provide a safe-haven for

你聽過瑞士銀行帳戶嗎？ 瑞士如何利用這些帳戶成為「避稅天堂」？

financial privacy? This might not be the case anymore. Check out our video here to learn

以後可能看不到這種情況囉，想知道更多請看影片

all about it. Thanks for watching TestTube!

感謝觀賞TestTube